Spring clip or bobby pin and the like



Jan. 18, 1955 R. L. PORTEOUS 2,699,790 SPRING CLIP OR BOBBY PIN AND THE LIKE Filed June 2, 1952 United States Patent SPRING CLIP OR BOBBY PIN AND THE LIKE Ronald Leslie Porteous, Mount Victoria, New South Wales, Australia Application June 2, 1952, Serial No. 291,244 Claims priority, application Australia June 4, 1951 2 Claims. (Cl. 132--50) This invention relates to spring clips used to hold womens hair in place and commonly known as bobby pins.

The spring clip commonly used for this purpose is made from a single length of spring metal, usually spring steel, bent to form two legs joined by a loop, the legs lying one above the other. One of such legs, generally the upper one, may be crimped to provide two or three corrugations or waves which assist in holding the clip firmly in place. Owing to their small size, and the fact that the legs are normally held in close contact, such clips are not easy to open and fasten in the hair.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved spring clip of this type which can be readily opened by Lhe fingers of one hand, and then placed in position in the air.

A subsidiary object is to provide a spring clip in which the likelihood of scratching the scalp is reduced.

According to this invention a spring clip of the type used to hold womens hair in place comprises a single length of spring metal bent to form a loop at one end and two legs which normally lie one above the other, at least one of the legs being provided with an outwardly projecting bow substantially at right angles to the plane of the lop at a point towards the loop end of the clip.

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a spring clip or bobby pin in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the clip of Figure 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan of the clip of Figure 1; and

Fig. 4 is an elevation of a modified clip according to the invention.

Referring to Figures 1 to 3, a spring clip is formed from a length of spring metal, preferably spring steel, bent to form a loop 7 and two legs 8 and 9 which lie above and below each other, the legs being held in contact by the springy nature of the material. The upper leg 8 may be provided with a plurality of corrugations 10 substantially in a plane at right angles to the plane of the leg. The end of the leg 8 may be upturned at 11 in accordance with usual practice. Each leg is provided with an 2,699,790 Patented Jan. 18, 1955 outwardly projecting bow or lug 12, 13 formed by bowing the leg substantially in the plane of the leg and substantially at right angles to the plane of the loop. Preferably the bow 12 on the lower leg is close to the loop 7, and the bow is to the left when the clip is held by the loop 7 with the upper leg 8 uppermost. The bow 13 on the upper leg is disposed further from the loop than the bow 12, but nevertheless in a position towards the loop end of the clip. The bows on the upper and lower legs are oppositely directed. The end 14 of the lower leg 9 may be upturned in order to reduce the likelihood of the scalp of a user being scratched thereby.

In use the clip is taken in, say, the right hand with the thumb on the bow 12 and the index finger on the bow 13. The legs can then be separated by manipulating the bows with the fingers.

Although it is preferred to provide a bow on each of the legs 8, 9, as shown in the drawings, this is not essentialdand a bow may be provided on one leg only if desire In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 4, the same reference numerals have been used as in Figures 1 to 3 to indicate the same parts. In the embodiment shown in Figure 4, the lower leg 9 is also crimped, the corrugations mating with those of the upper leg. The end 14 of the lower leg may be upturned as in the embodiment of Figures 1 to 3 if desired.

I claim:

1. A spring clip of the type used to hold womens hair in place comprising a single length of spring metal bent to form a loop at one end and two legs which normally lie one above the other, each leg being provided with an outwardly projecting bow substantially at right angles to the plane of the loop at a point towards the loop end of the clip.

2. A spring clip of the type used to hold womens hair in place comprising a single length of spring metal bent to form a loop at one end and two legs which normally lie one above the other, each leg being provided with an outwardly projecting bow substantially at right angles to the plane of the loop at a point towards the loop end of the clip, the bow on one leg being disposed further from the loop than the bow on the other leg.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,337,377 Wilson Apr. 20, 1920 1,372,285 Frommann et al Mar. 22, 1921 1,528,454 Taggart et al. Mar. 3, 1925 1,798,487 Naito Mar. 31, 1931 2,548,973 Hambrook Apr. 17, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 805,543 Germany May 21, 1951 

